This book is a treasure on so many levels. Meticulously researched, and written with great thoughtfulness and sensitivity, FINAL FLIGHT examines the mysteries surrounding a WWII plane crash deep in California's High Sierra. I could not put it down, and can't stop thinking about the four young aviators, lost for over 60 years. Through author Peter Stekel's exhaustive labor of love, all four men have figuratively (and in one case, literally) finally been brought home.

FINAL FLIGHT is not a light read -- it is dense with detail -- but it is a compelling one, and does justice to the subject matter. I appreciated Stekel's respectful and non-sensationalistic tone. Stylistically very well-written, this book also shows command of story -- not an easy task. Included photos and maps greatly enhanced my understanding. If you, like I did, desire to learn more, don't miss Stekel's website FinalFlightTheBook (dot com).

Even if I had not been given this book as part of LibraryThing's "Early Reviewers" program I believe I would have eventually discovered it. I'm a climber who has spent many happy hours in the High Sierra, including the general region where the crash occurred. I also have a keen interest in aviation. Whatever your interest: WWII, aviation, mountaineering, history, meteorology, glaciology, biography, military, or simply a good story well told -- there is something in Stekel's book to grab you. I will be presenting copies to others whom I'm certain will be equally moved.

Thank you, Mr. Stekel. Because of your exhaustive efforts and compassion, you have honored and brought back to life four young men who would otherwise be long-forgotten, except by those who loved them. Your book is testimony and tribute to the power of meticulous journalism, and of love. ( )

In 2005, two hikers discovered a body emerging from Mendel Glacier in the High Sierra backcountry of Kings Canyon National Park. Two years later, the author discovered a second body in the same place. These two dead men were part of the crew of a WWII army training flight that crashed in 1942 and was never recovered. As he learned more about the circumstances of the crash, the author discovered several inconsistencies in the written records and set out to find out the most likely reason for the fatal crash. This is a fascinating exploration of WWII pilot training, the vagaries of weather, glaciers, mountain flying and much more. ( )

Final Flight by Peter Stekel tells the story of a routine training flight which went fatally wrong leading to the deaths of four aviators and the loss of their bodies for more than sixty years. The initial event was the discovery of a body emerging from a glacier in a remote region of the Sierra Nevada mountains in mid-2005. Identification of the body being a navigator trainee led the author to further investigation of the events of that flight and why it ended where it did. The investigation proceeded over several years and through several sources. Two searches by the Army at two different times did not bring any conclusion to the mystery. A newspaper article which turned out to have little basis in reality. Then another body, later identified as a member of the flight, was found by the author on a hiking expedition of his own. The story is reminiscent of many deaths during the war, but this story has an author who became deeply involved in the outcome and how it occurred. The author develops a plausible course of events leading to the crash of the plane. The factors the author purports that lead to the crash do not fit with the official descriptions, but official descriptions are not necessarily true, since they were often gleaned from inexact sources.

The book has an unexpected pattern. It does not follow the participants biographies, events and theories and summary. Rather it follows the author's progressive involvement in the story and has sections detailing his feelings about who these men were and what they sacrificed. Connection with one family, though unexpected by the author, was an ultimately positive closure for both the family and the author.

For me some sections dragged and became repetitive, but the final conclusions were realistic and fit the data available. I do not see this book as one i would read twice, but do give it four stars for the intensity of the author's feeling and clear exposition. ( )

Summarizes search for truth that grew from the 2005 discovery of a body melting out of Mendel Glacier in Kings Canyon National Park in California. Called the Frozen Airman, he was one of four young men on a World War II training flight that disappeared. In the process of researching the story of this discover, the author and his climbing partner discovered another body. The book follows two stories. One is what happened in 1942-1948 when the plane vanished and official reports said bodies had been recovered and buried. Along with this are portraits of the four young men who vanished. The second story starts in 2005 when the Frozen Airman was discovered and set off the chain of events that led to the author's investigation and this book. Well worth reading. ( )

Finally, a truly outstanding Early Reviewers book. This gripping, absolutely fascinating book starts with the discovery, in 2005, of airplane wreckage in the High Sierras, the so-called Frozen Airman. Some months later, it's established that the dead man was a cadet whose WW2 aviation navigation training flight crashed on November 18, 1942.

Stekel looks at earlier attempts to find bodies and wreckage and embarks on his own hiking trip to the area, and amazingly, finds another body and more wreckage.

There's plenty of science, weather, history, and aviation in this book but it's interesting stuff. This book is a real page turner. I couldn't put it down.

Highly recommended!! ( )